As the Autumn Carnival nears, we watch closely as some of our youngsters and exciting black-type horses return to the trials.
Athabascan
Athabascan, who won both the Listed CTC Cup and Group 3 Colin Stephen last preparation pleased John O’Shea. While he only finished 7th in his trial yesterday at Randwick, John couldn’t have been happier with Athabascan’s performance.
“It just shows how well he is going. I was surprised how close he was to the others over the shorter trial distance, but he finished really well and I would have been happy with a lot less. He will have another trial in two weeks and then we’re off to the races.”, commented O’Shea.
Athabascan’s main goal is the 3200m Group 1 Sydney Cup, and he could head there via the 2400m Group 1 Tancred Stakes.
Pakenham trials on Tuesday morning included four of our Phillip Stokes trained horses.
Daqiansweet Junior
Our Melbourne Cup contester, DJ, returned to the trials this morning after a month-long break and showed a positive performance. Ridden by Daniel Stackhouse, he finished off nicely.
“I tried to put him into the trial a little more and we got into a nice rhythm. The further he got into the trial the better he was.”, said Stackhouse in his post-trial comments. Watch Daqiansweet Junior’s trial here.
Daqiansweet Junior will have another trial in a couple weeks and will most likely make his return to the races in the 1800m Group 2 Peter Young Stakes at Caulfield on February 24, 2024. His main target is the 3200m Group 1 Sydney Cup, with a final lead up run in the 2600m Listed Roy Higgins Quality at Flemington a fortnight earlier.
Amade
Geelong Cup winner, Amade, did everything right as he had a tick over trial in preparation for his Adelaide Cup campaign. Watch his trial replay here.
“He jumped well, travelled very nice and was encouraging through the line. He’s a happy horse and was bouncing coming back to the mounting yard. He has a good action and is clean winded. He will have another tick-over trial before heading to the races in the Torney Night Cup.”, commented Phillip Stokes.
Femminile
The 2yo filly Femminile, by Dundeel, had her second trial and Stokes is looking to kick off her career over 1200m in the next few weeks. She finished second in her trial and was beaten very narrowly. Watch her trial here.
“She is a very professional filly and matured a lot this preparation. She was quite impressive and strong through the line, having to chase the winner. As a 2yo she shows plenty of ability, but she will certainly turn into an exciting racehorse once we move up in distance a little in the future. She could be a very nice middle-distance type filly.”, said trainer Phillip Stokes.
Setosa
Setosa completed her second trial after a spell and went very well as she prepares for a 1000m 3yo BM64 at The Valley on February 9.
“Zac Spain was very pleased with her. They went quite quick in the trial and she settled behind the speed and showed a really good turn of foot. We’re looking forward to getting her back to the races.”, commented Stokes.
Meanwhile Archie Alexander took Vivy Air’s little sister, Loafer, to Camperdown for her second jumpout.
Loafer was most impressive winning her jumpout in fast time. She will now head to the races. The Chairman’s Stakes at Caulfield is a possible target first up.
“Loafer was ridden by Declan Bates in the field of six, she jumped well from the barrier and settled outside the leader. She looked to travel well within herself coming around the turn and once balanced up in the straight, she worked to the line strongly to win the jumpout. We were pleased with her performance and feel she is ready to head off to the races with a few options.”, said trainer Archie Alexander after the trial.
We look forward to following each of their preparations.
